Blacksmith Edmon escaped from the Cherokee Nation in 1839.

Addison escaped from Texas in the direction of the Arkansas River.

The Amistad was a slaveship whose captives rebelled and took over the ship. The Supreme Court granted the kidnapped Africans their freedom.

Anthony escaped Arkansas in 1851 heading either toward his wife or Indian country.

Austin escaped slavery and was expected to return to the Cherokees in 1821.

Bartly boldly escaped from Mississippi in 1851, having been brought from the Indian Nation.

In 1821, E. Montgomery advertised that Stephen Stapleton stole his two bondsmen from Alabama.

In 1822, Charles Hubbs advertise from Baton Rouge for runaway Peter.

Betsey escaped from Tennessee in 1825.

In 1851 Bob's master feared him headed toward Indian territory.

Four bondsmen escaped from an Arkansas plantation and were seen passing through the Choctaw Nation in 1840.

In 1823 Hempstead County sheriff accuses William Boyce of stealing Fanny, her child, and a young boy.

The Callahan Expedition occurred in October 1855 when James Hughes Callahan led a force of 111 men into Mexico near Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

A man and woman with 2 children, enslaved, escaped with horses or were stolen in 1831.

On September 11, 1851 Maryland slaveholder Edward Gorsuch, his son and five others went to Christiana, Pennsylvania...

In 1830, Jerry escaped, thought by his owner to be heading either for Kentucky or posing as free.

Dick ran toward the Indian Nation in 1859 from Arkansas.

Formerly enslaved by a Choctaw chief, Eaf escaped from his latest master in 1833.

John Bird ran away from Frederick Lewis from a flat boat in 1821.

Spencer ran from the Choctaw agency in Arkansas in 1836.

Bill escaped his master in Lamar County, Texas, in 1864.

Henry escaped from John Davis, Mitchell, Hempstead County, Arkansas in 1865.

Jack escaped in 1820 from his owner's plantation in Tennessee.

Arkansas Gazette 1830 advertised for a Negro PLEASANT who escaped when passing through the Choctaw nation of Indians.

In 1832, Willis and Stephen, bondsmen, escaped, and were making their way toward the Cherokee or Creek Nations.

Mitch escaped and headed for either Crittenden County or the Chickasaw Nation in 1835.

Anthony, Charley, Jim, and John escaped their master, R. Jones's plantation in the Choctaw Nation in 1864.

California’s 1851 "Frank Case," became one of the most hotly disputed trials in early state history, and served to energize and unify...

Ned, an enslaved fugitive from justice in Arkansas, was expected in 1857 to head toward the Cherokees.

George ran away from slavery in Arkansas, probably heading for Fort Smith in 1851.

George uses mare to escape to freedom in 1863.

Two twelve year old girls escaped in 1823 from the Bluffs.

Granderson escaped slavery at the Old Agency, Creek Nation, in 1852.

Clement Scher apprehended Harris in 1864 while he was heading toward Texas.

Abraham escaped from Baton Rouge heading for Natchez in 1822.

Net and BaileY escaped from Texas to go to the Federals in 1863.

Jack escaped from Baton Rouge but was apprehended in Arkansas Territory in 1822.

Jack, identifiable by his sore leg, ran away from Texas place in 1864.

Isaac was committed to jail in 1822 in Arkansas Co. as a runaway.

Jam Overstreet and his wife Louisa broke jail in Lafayette County, Arkansas, in order to seek their freedom in 1863.

Joe escaped from James Wand, Cherokee Nation, in 1832.

Jonas and Sam escaped from Texas toward Indian Territory in 1850.

Jonathan Walker was a white Massachusetts sea captain and a staunch abolitionist.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in slaveholding lands.

Jack, who could tell a plausible tale, as well as cook and wash, escaped from Center Point, Arkansas in 1865.

Runaway Luke may have headed for the Missouri lead mines in 1826.

A man Isaac, branded on each cheek, escaped with 2 dogs in 1823.

Mary and two children escaped from enslavement in southwest Arkansas in 1864.

Jacob escaped from near Little Rock in 1826.

Jerry escaped slavery in 1830, sought by his owner at the Choctaw Agency.

In 1848 76 bondsmen tried to escape on the schooner the Pearl. Many were sold South, and the captains were convicted of theft and sent to jail.

An Arkansas jailor offered a reward for Peter, Ben, and Irwin who escaped jail in 1833.

Joes escaped from Tom Brandon in Spring Hill, Arkansas, in 1864.

Robert Fletcher sought Johnson and Caleb who had run away from the Post Quartermaster at Lewisville, Arkansas, in 1864.

A high point of anti abolitionist sentiment, which demonstrates the depth of racism throughout northern free states, are the events surrounding...

Runaway Bob was jailed until his owner claimed him in 1824.

In 1833, a runaway was committed to jail who was caught in company of emigrating Choctaw.

Henry, a runaway, risked being sold for expenses in Arkansas Territory in 1826 unless his owner claimed him.

Sam might have gone with a gang of Indians to the Cherokee nation west.

Scott escaped possibly toward Arkansas in 1823.

A scout took up a runaway from Jefferson County in 1864.

Master of Shadrack and Isham in Alabama advertised in 1833 to recover them, believing them to be among the Indians.

During 1711-1727, the governors of MD and VA acted to stop the Shawnees in MD from aiding freedom seekers.

Cammel was caught running from the old Creek nation when he was about to move in 1834.

In 1864, Charles escaped from Elijah Ferguson in Washington, Arkansas.

In 1834, Harry escaped from a Creek Chief, despite being deaf.

Likely to head for the Cherokee Nation, in 1823, Celia broke from jail.

Posing as an Indian, Carter escaped in 1840 from Arkansas.

Willis and Stephen were making for the Cherokee Nation when they escaped with a dog in 1832.

In 1824 a suspicious looking black was picked up by a justice of the peace in Mississippi.

Taking two mules and a horse, four bondsmen escaped from Rondo, Arkansas in 1863.

One of the most celebrated rescues took place in Syracuse, New York, where African American and white members of the local...

Tom escaped an Arkansas plantation in 1839 with an Indian, heading toward the Cherokee nation.

Barnet and Ely were arrested by Thomas Viott in 1864 in Texas.

Charley and Jim, a good Cherokee speaker, escaped in 1835.

Celia broke jail accompanied by two other bondsmen, heading toward the Cherokee nation in 1823.

Alaska may have been the destination of African Americans, who, after traveling to Canada or New England coastal cities, became sailors on...

Alexandria Freedmen's Cemetery was the site of burial of enslaved people who had fled seeking freedom and refuge.

Blanche K. Bruce escaped from enslavement in Missouri, eventually becoming a US senator. He is buried in DC.

Research center and repository of Underground Railroad documents

Camp Stanton served a pivotal role in helping African American's achieve their freedom by joining the Union forces.

The most noted escape to take place at Colonial Park occurred in 1842 when Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813-1897) stowed away aboard a ship.

Abolitionists in the United States argued that the freedom seeker’s decision to make the dangerous trek on the Underground Railroad undercut...

Located in the village of Lancaster, Indiana, Eleutherian College was founded by Reverend Thomas Craven.

Forks of the Roads Slave Market during its existence served as the second largest enslavement market in the Deep South.

Fort Mose, one of the "Negro Forts," is a precursor site of the Underground Railroad.

The final home of Frederick Douglass, freedom seeker and abolitionist speaker and writer, commemorates his entire life.

Jacob Burkle was among those in the anti-slavery movement who risked their lives to help escaping Africans.

It was from this farm that John Brown set forth to Harpers Ferry with his plan to end slavery through armed confrontation...

This was the home of Presbyterian minister John Rankin who is reputed to have been one of Ohio’s first and most active conductors on the...

The Loudoun County Courthouse is associated with two trials of free blacks who sought to free bondsmen.

The Milton House illustrates the spread of abolition and its transformation from a moral to a political issue.

Local newspapers document at least 5 examples of runaway slaves incarcerated in the Old Jail in St. Mary's between 1858 and the Civil War.

 The Pasquotank River runs between Pasquotank and Camden Counties in northeast North Carolina...

Phill escapes from his master while he is in St. Francesville.

Quindaro was a Wyandot Indian town named after Nancy Quindaro Brown, Wyandot Chief Adam Brown’s daughter.

As a site of enslavement, Sottereley Plantation was the starting point for freedom seekers Towerhill, Clem, and George Briscoe.

While Richard Bland Lee lived at Sully, Fairfax County, VA, 4 known incidents of bondsmen running away occurred.

In 1862, the Union army defeated a Confederate force on Roanoke Island, thus allowing ex-slaves and freedmen to establish an independent community.

While a teenager, Ann Maria Weems escaped enslavement in MD by disguise as a driver for an abolitionist going to Philadelphia.

Bridget (Biddy Mason) was the enslaved African American of Mormon Robert Smith, who brought Biddy and other African Americans to California in 1851.

Elizabeth Keckley was seamstress and friend to Mary Todd Lincoln and founder of the Contraband Relief Society.

The experience of freedom seekers William and Ellen Craft suggest a dramatic mix of individual initiative and organized assistance.

When President Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he reportedly remarked, "So, this is the little lady who wrote that book that made this...

The Underground Railroad’s most famous conductor, Harriet Tubman brought dozens of individuals out of bondage to northern states and Canada

African Americans Jane Elizabeth Whiting and children sailed from Virginia on June 1, 1856, as the property of a Mr. Thompson.

Nelson Gant was tried for stealing his enslaved wife. Despite a trial, they were absolved and moved to OH.

Mary and Emily Edmonson tried to escape slavery on the Pearl. They escaped sale South through the efforts of their father and abolitionists.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) is best known for "The Provinicial Freedom", a newspaper she helped to found and edit for freedom seekers.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was a New England Underground Railroad agent who fled to California to avoid prosecution under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

In 1851, Reverend John Gregg Fee purchased the enslaved Juliet Miles from his father to keep her from being sold.

Slaveholder Nathaniel Ford came to Oregon in 1845, bringing Robin Holmes, an enslaved man, and an enslaved woman named Polly.

Sojourner Truth, born into slavery, became one of the most outspoken proponents of freedom and women's rights, both before and after the Civil War.

In 1854 Anthony Burns, a twenty-year old freedom seeker, stowed away on a vessel bound from Virginia to northern ports.

Benjamin Lundy was perhaps the greatest of the early abolitionists.

African American abolitionist David Ruggles became involved in the Underground Railroad because of his association with William Still...

Guided by his own experiences in bondage, Frederick Douglass became America’s leading African American abolitionist.

Oral history chronicles the amazing story of Augustus "Gus" West.

Harriet Jacobs and her daughter Louisa were in Alexandria, VA, from 1863-65 in order to help newly freed refugees.

Jim Pembroke wrote The Fugitive Blacksmith.He described his early life on the Rockland estate and his escape from slavery.

For forty years, John and Jean Rankin led their Ripley, Ohio neighbors in feeding, clothing, and sheltering hundreds of freedom seekers.

Fiery abolitionist John Brown dedicated his life to slavery’s destruction.

Born into slavery in Spanish Florida in 1812, John Horse eventually became one of the greatest chiefs of the Black Seminole.

Freedom seeker Josiah Henson and his family came to Cincinnati in the 1820s.

Leonard Grimes was arrested for helping an enslaved family escape. Convicted, he spent 2 years in a VA penitentiary. Afterwards, he moved to MA.

A staunch Quaker, Levi Coffin was widely recognized as the "President of the Underground Railroad," with his home known as "Grand Central Station."

The establishment of separate regional churches and the organization of African American churches in the North helped consolidate northern...

Owen Lovejoy, an influential abolitionist politician, lived here from 1838 until his death in 1864.

Reverend John Todd was amongst a group of abolitionists who moved to Western Iowa from Oberlin College and set up an important depot on the UGRR.

Robert Smalls was born enslaved in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839.

In 1837, runaway Simon was last seen heading south from the Creek Nation.

William Chaplin was tried in DC and Maryland in 1850 for being an Underground Railroad conductor.

William Lloyd Garrison is one of the best-known abolitionists, and published the widely read antislavery journal, The Liberator.

William Still, a freeborn African American, was one of the legendary leaders of Philadelphia’s extensive Underground Railroad network.

Constructed in 1854-56, this house was the residence of Wilson Bruce Evans, a leading African American abolitionist and successful member of...